Forgotten Lore

Ever heard of a tale where the main character of a book falls in love with the reader?! Yes, you heard me right. If you believe this shit, read on. If you don’t, well.. Humor me. Please.

A graduate, straight from Wogharts University, bored of being bored, takes up the most boring task ever (according to him); reading a novel! He wanted to know, to what extent could a novel bore him now?! He knew that there was none in the world which he could read till the end. Still, he was on for it.

***

Lying in a corner, covered with dust… Aisha wanted to be more than just a word. She wanted the stream of words; she had lived in, to mean something to someone. Almost an eternity in between the lines; without even a glance by someone; anyone, for that matter. She had lost all hope when…

***

Pottery was his passion. He wanted nothing from life; just a bucket of mud and the spinning wheel. It was his world until the last to last month. An accident took away his fingers from the right hand and also with it the urge to live life the way he wanted. He wanted to not think of his present state and to consume his mind with something else. Hence, the book. The paperback he singled out from the oldest library near his place; read ‘Forgotten Lore’ by some Aisha Nosirname. He found it in a corner separated from the common lot; lying on the floor, asking desperately to be read. It seemed as though no one had ever read this one before. But he picked it up without giving another moment on the decision.  He then had no clue what was in store for him in the book.

***

As excited as she was, Aisha had apprehensions about how he would think of her after he had gone through all what she had wanted to say for so long. After all, a closed book was to be opened. It was time when someone actually paid attention to what she had to say. He had chosen her despite the not so catchy brown cover on her. She was thankful as he didn’t go just by the cover. After all, the world was full with people who made decisions going by face value of things. This bliss was short termed. He never started reading her. After taking her from the library he took her to his room and put her on the shelf near the window. Days passed; every time he came near the shelf, she could hear her heart race. A ray of hope tingled but it was all momentary. She thought of him 24*7, feeling his gaze on her; how he had looked at her the first time they met. His deep black eyes said absolutely nothing. It was after two weeks when he finally touched her again. She felt his fingers all over her.

***

To his utter surprise, it was midnight when he had a glance at the clock above head. It was in the noon when he had started the book. He could not fathom what kept him so into the book. Maybe the simplicity with which it was written or Aisha Nosirname; the one whose autobiography he was reading. He was amazed at how Ms. Nosirname led a life, so perfect; just what the doctor ordered. There was not even a speck of sadness in it. How could God not be fair to him but only to her?! His curiosity was at peaks, he never imagined would be, about somebody else’s life. But he had to contain it because he had to wake up in the morning for his classes, which were not to be missed for anyone. Not even Aisha Nosirname.

***

Aisha had this feeling, this time it wouldn’t be long when he’d be back to her; to know her story, to see it through her perspective. She thought she would let go of the night and wait for him. Meanwhile, she lay just next to him. She could hear his heartbeat in the silent night. The beats were like a lullaby and she fell asleep; relieved off the pain of not being heard for years. Never after the first read was she kept on that shelf near the window again. She was carried by him all the time. She was read by him at frequent intervals, whenever he found time. He made her a habit and she was elated about it. Although she was happy, she could not forget the fact that it is only a matter of time when he will be done with her. She wanted him to know her to the last bit but she feared what would happen after the last page. She would be a forgotten lore. Once again.

***

It was after 3/4^th of the novel when he absorbed the fact, everyone gets their share of joys and sorrows. The thing that matters the most is how you behave when you are happy and how you handle you sorrows. Ms. Nosirname had become a hero for him. She was perfect despite of all the shortcomings. She had found a way to survive. He was determined to find his now.

***

Aisha was ecstatic on her achievement. She had changed someone’s life. His life! She wasn’t the most hunted book, but this reader had somehow covered it all. He had made her feel special. Only three pages were left and she would be a book, closed forever. In the last moments spent together, he had clasped her tightly with both hands. Reading the last lines, he smiled with his eyes; tears were falling on her and she was falling for him. Does not every book fall in love with the one reading it?

***

Aisha Nosirname was kept in the very same shelf near the window; probably never to be read again. She was joined by some other books year after year. They were a tale, forgotten.
Or were they?